A Somewhat Saner Aspect of Life
by Maya-chan2007
Summary: Side-story to That Crazy Asian Family. Current chapter: Alfred and Toris visit Sea World. It all goes downhill from there. "What should we do then, Alfred?" Toris loved helping to do the right thing. "That's easy. We steal him!" ...wait, what?
1. Toris and Natalia Talk

_So, here's the little chat that Toris and Natalia had at the end of chapter 19. While writing it, I had a certain song in my head that I thought really fit Natalia. I'll talk more about it in chapter 21, when it comes up. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this brief interlude to That Crazy Asian Family! ^_^_

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><p>Natalia led Toris over to the abandoned park bench. Getting comfortable, Natalia avoided looking directly in his general direction. However, she could still see his eager face out of the corner of her eye. Natalia sighed, smiling wryly. Toris looked like he was trying to keep the excitement off of his face, but Natalia could still see it anyway. It figures that the one person who was this eager to listen to Natalia's complaints and concerns would be the one guy that she hated.<p>

And Natalia knew that she hated him.

What else could that feeling she felt every time she saw him mean? Her stomach would clench, she would feel nauseous and her blood pressure would rise. All these were sure signs that she loathed him.

Right?

However, Natalia knew that right now she couldn't be picky. She had to get this off her mind, and if Toris was willing to listen then she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Natalia paused. She would have to hit Alfred later for introducing her to such a strange phrase. Then again, it probably wasn't his fault; Arthur had most likely been the one to teach it to him. Still, a gift horse? What in the world was that? A horse that one _gets_ as a gift? A gift-_bearing_ horse perhaps? And why shouldn't you look it in the mouth? Granted, Natalia didn't know why one would _want_ to look in a horse's mouth in the first place, but this was ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as that other phrase of Alfred's, where cats and dogs rain down from the clouds when it's particularly stormy.

"Miss Natalia?"

Natalia shook herself out of her thoughts, glancing at Toris. "I'm fine. Just thinking weird things thanks to Alfred again." Toris smiled. He knew what she meant; his friend was _very_ strange after all. Toris still remembered the time that he and Alfred went to the city to visit SeaWorld, as the franchise was having a brief show there, and Alfred had managed to befriend one of the whales. After much talking, pleading, eventual tears and convincing, Alfred was able to talk Toris into helping him smuggle the whale out. Toris didn't like to admit his part in the criminal activity, but he was happy to know that the whale was happier at his new home…

…at Alfred's place. It was a wonder no one had shown up to question him about the whale, really. Then again, Antonio had a pet bull, so no one could really say anything.

"So," Natalia began. "I'm not sure how much you heard, but my parents…my mother wants me to quit being friends with Lili and Mei now."

"That's horrible!" Toris exclaimed, turning to face Natalia. He had an intense look in his eyes, and Natalia knew that he wasn't just saying that. He really was upset that she wasn't allowed to see her two friends anymore. For some reason, that made Natalia feel uncomfortable. A pool of warmth had settled in her stomach, and it was slowly spreading. That didn't really seem right to Natalia, since she was starting to feel cold as dusk descended and she was still upset. The sudden warmth didn't seem to fit in. Natalia brushed this feeling away and ignored it in favor of completing her tale for Toris.

"I haven't decided what to do yet," Natalia admitted quietly. She saw from the corner of her eye where Toris leaned in closer to hear better. She suddenly had an urge to stab his hand or yell in his ear, he was so close. However, he probably wouldn't even notice. That's how it always was with him. "Obviously, I should do what my parents want me to. They're my parents. But…I don't want to give up my friends." She didn't want to admit to Toris of all people that they were her only friends. That would probably only make him pity her, and that was one thing that she did _not_ need from him.

"Well…" Toris trailed off, looking into the distance thoughtfully. Natalia fixed her gaze on him, expectant. Toris' eyes moved to look straight at Natalia, soft smile on his face. "What do you want to do?"

Natalia's brow furrowed. "My parents say-"

"No, I don't mean what do your parents want," Toris cut in gently, shaking his head slightly. His gaze hadn't wavered in the least. "What do _you_, Natalia, want?"

"I want to be friends with them," Natalia said without hesitation. Her eyes widened at her confession. She hadn't meant to say that. She would get in trouble if her parents found out. She would be in so much trouble…

…But for some reason, Natalia couldn't bring herself to care. That scared her the most.

If there was ever anything that Natalia believed in the most in this world, it was that she had to listen to whatever her parents said. Natalia had to move into another house? Fine. Natalia had to change her name? Of course. Natalia wasn't allowed in her brother's house without prior permission from her parents? Only natural. …Natalia wasn't allowed to marry her brother? Well…that would be—_hard_, it would be difficult, but she…could manage.

Compared to all of that, not being to not be allowed to be friends with two, insignificant girls? It should be a no-brainer. It should be obvious to all. However, that 'obvious' thing was the most difficult order that Natalia had ever been given.

She had been living under the pressures that her parents had put upon her for so long, it only seemed natural. Didn't other families live like this? Natalia found it a hard concept to grasp that someone should live differently. She never could understand the looks that she would get from her classmates, the overly loud whispers that spoke of pity but had the tone of condescension. What made them so superior? Didn't they know that Natalia stood light-years ahead of them? That she and her family, though especially Ivan, were in a different plane of existence than where they lived? This had been what Natalia had always thought, because this was the only way she was ever raised.

And then she met Mei. Mei didn't act like the others around her. Mei was above them, even though she didn't act like it or have any reason to make other people think so. But Natalia could tell, Mei was set apart from them. And so Natalia made a friend. Mei was there to listen to Natalia's complaints, to listen to the extraordinary events of her life that seemed perfectly normal to her, and in turn shared her own stories of her own extraordinary life. Natalia found a kindred spirit. She had found a savior. Mei saved Natalia from her loneliness, from her boredom. But she hadn't stopped there.

That was when Natalia met Lili. Lili, like Mei and Natalia before her, had her own plane of existence. She was special among the special. Not only was she a part of the Burghaps, she hadn't even been born into the position. No one really knew the details of her arrival except for the other members of the Burghaps. This only added to the mystery and the intrigue of the young girl.

Sometimes, late at night, Natalia would wonder if she could even compare to these two extraordinary girls.

Still, Natalia knew that if she should have any sort of friends, these two would be perfect. She could never fathom having to give these two precious girls up. But that was what was expected of her. Natalia didn't even notice as she started to tear up. She was trapped.

Trapped by her parent's expectations, trapped in her world where she had to be perfect, do everything perfectly, and trapped by her own inabilities. There really was no other way to describe how Natalia was feeling now. She was hopelessly, inexplicably trapped. Worst of all, there seemed to be no way out.

She could either follow her parent's orders and 'break up', as it were, with Mei and Lili or she could rebel, disappoint her parents, and disgrace her family. Neither way was really appealing. Why couldn't things be simpler?

"Miss Natalia?"

Shaken, Natalia spun to look at Toris with wide, watery eyes. She hadn't even realized that she had been looking away, but apparently sometime during her musings, she had. Toris looked at her with concern, hand raised halfway as if he wanted to wipe away her tears. He hesitated, and then reached into his pocket for a spare handkerchief. Handing it to her, Toris spoke in soothing tones.

"What happened? Is something wrong?"

Taking a shuddering breath, Natalia spoke again. "Yes. I've messed up, and I don't know what to do now. I can't—I can't…I just don't know what to do anymore. Everything I've done so far is apparently wrong, and I think I'm turning too stubborn for my own good. I know that what I'm doing is wrong, but I don't care; I just don't think I can do what's needed of me to make things right. I know all of this about me, but I don't think I can change." Taking a look at Toris, Natalia smiled sadly. _And you can't help me, can you?_

"Well, who says you have to change?" Toris asked, shocking Natalia with his question. "After all, I like you just the way you are. I don't think you really have to change if you don't want to, do you? Especially not to just meet someone else's expectations."

Natalia stared at Toris incomprehensively. How is it that he knew just what to say to make her feel better? Natalia could feel more tears fall from her eyes. Hurriedly, she wiped at them, breaking her eye contact with him. She could already feel her chest surging with warmth. Did his words do this? This…this insignificant person? Natalia's chest tightened again. Why did it do that? She didn't know, but she knew one thing.

She wanted to hear more nice words.

"How can you know that for sure?" she asked, staring at her lap. She kept him in sight, though, out of the corner of her eye. "Maybe it's best if I change. Maybe I _should_ change. How do you know that I shouldn't?"

Toris hummed, looking into the night sky. Nearby a street lamp in the park lit up, giving them some light. Natalia caught herself holding her breath, waiting for his answer. Waiting for him to help her. "I suppose that's true…" Toris said eventually. Natalia could feel something in her stomach plummet at his words. Was this disappointment? "But then again, you don't have to change all at once, you know. Is there anything about yourself that you don't particularly like, or something that you feel that you _need_ to change about yourself?"

And just like that, that same something in her stomach started soaring. Natalia felt lightheaded, and it took her a moment to hear his question.

"Hm? Oh, uh," Natalia stuttered. _Stuttered_. This was ridiculous. "I guess not. Well, maybe…maybe I would like…" she said, getting softer and softer, "I would like to have Brother not hate me. I would like to be able to keep my friends." _I would like you._ Natalia froze. Where did that thought come from? It…It almost sounded like…like she _liked_ him. That—that couldn't be possible, could it? Natalia could feel her cheeks growing steadily redder and redder. Great. She could only hope that the low lighting around them hid her blush.

"Well, if it's you, Natalia, then I believe you can do it!" Toris said happily, not noticing Natalia's internal crisis. "I believe you can do anything you put your mind to, so don't worry, okay?" Reaching over, Toris took the handkerchief in her hands and wiped at some spare tears that she had missed. He smiled, bright and happy at her. Natalia could feel herself falling for him.

Standing up abruptly, Natalia walked a few feet away, _needing_ to get away from him for right now. She had to think about things. For one…he believed in her. That was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her. No one…no one had _ever_ told her that they believed in her before, not when they meant it. That meant the world to her.

Behind her, she could hear Toris stand up, not sure what he had done. "Miss Natalia?" Oh, he was back to calling her 'miss' again. Natalia wasn't sure she liked that…

Turning around, she managed to give him a cool look. "Thank you, Toris. I'm feeling much better now." Her cool demeanor didn't dampen his spirits, it seemed, as he smiled brightly at her. Natalia smirked in return.

"I'm glad I could be of help," he offered modestly. …And this was the guy that Natalia apparently liked? She shuddered delicately, easily passed off to the chill night air. She still couldn't get used to this. After liking her brother for so long, she suddenly liked Toris? She couldn't believe it. There had to be a catch. What she needed now was some time to think. She would be better after she had had some time to herself.

Still, she really needed to hear those comforting words from this boy's weird sense of logic.

"Also, don't tell anyone about this chat we've had. Okay?" Natalia asked imperiously. At the end of the day, even after all of her self-discovery, she was still her.

She couldn't change overnight.


	2. Alfred and the Whale

_I mentioned in the previous chapter that Toris went with Alfred to a Sea World exhibit-thing and from there ended up taking a whale home. Well, as I thought about it later, I realized that I really, really wanted to write about what happened. So, here it is! ^_^ The next chapter of That Crazy Asian Family will be up...well, I won't say soon, maybe in a week or so. But I have high hopes for myself! *sparkle*_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, Sea World, or Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO. Also, Alfred and Matthew's uncle here is just an OC, though he could be Native America if you want. He's their mother's brother, in case anyone cared.  
>Warning: Alfred's puppy-dog pout. It is seriously deadly; you can NOT resist it!<em>

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><p>"Come on Toris, we gotta hurry if we want good seats!" Alfred called back enthusiastically to his friend. He was rushing through the crowds of people, cutting in front of them and jostling random passerby as he went. Toris smiled weakly at his friend, apologizing to the people he saw for his friend's rudeness. To Toris, it was always like this. Either Feliks or Alfred was making a lot of noise and in general being a nuisance to society and Toris was left apologizing for his friends. That's how it always was, but as long as he only had to deal with them one at a time, he couldn't complain. Toris shuttered to think what would happen if Alfred and Feliks joined up for one of their shenanigans.<p>

…

He would die, wouldn't he?

"Toris!" Alfred shouted, making the Lithuanian boy in question jump and hurry after his friend. Sometimes he wondered why his parents named him after a dog. Moving through the crowd, Toris reached the open air pavilion where all of the entertainment took place. Pausing for a moment to take in the sight of the large water tank in the center of the amphitheatre, he looked around for his friend, knowing that Alfred would be hard to miss. In fact, the American teen was up near the front (right in the splash zone, Toris noted sadly), gesturing wildly as he jumped up and down to make absolutely sure that Toris saw him. Alfred was waving his arms around frantically, making as much noise as he could and yelling at anyone who came too close to the seats that he had saved with his jacket just for himself and Toris.

Toris smiled weakly at the people he passed on his way to his friend, all of whom were glaring at him for being associated with Alfred. He walked by them with his head hung in shame. Couldn't Alfred go anywhere without drawing attention to himself like this? Oh well; he wasn't here to be annoyed with Alfred. He was here to have a good time, maybe even get totally soaked from the water. When he finally made it to his seat, Alfred had already taken his own and was loudly singing along with the dance music that was playing on the speaker systems. _"Everyday I'm shufflin'!"_ Alfred grinned wildly, turning excitedly to a bemused Toris. "Hey, hey, Toris! D'ya think I should show off my dance moves?"

That was the last thing Toris needed. Smiling shakily, though Alfred didn't notice in his excitement, he managed to convince his friend that if he did that then he would miss part of the show. Alfred's look of horror was definitely the highlight of his day, even if Toris felt a little guilty afterwards.

Luckily, the announcer came over the intercom system letting everyone know that the program was going to begin soon. Toris could feel himself catching Alfred's excitement; he sat on the edge of the seat, looking forward to the show. "Hey, Toris," a voice to his left said. Toris blinked at the serious tone in his friend's voice. Turning to Alfred, he met his smile with one of his own. "Thanks for coming here with me; you're a great friend, ya know?" Toris felt speechless. _This_ was why he was friends with Alfred; because he was so nice, to Toris at least. Toris smiled, flattered. "You're a good friend, too, Alfred."

Alfred laughed his usual laugh and turned back around to watch the show. Toris joined him.

Overall, in Toris' opinion later that day, the show hadn't been that bad. The snacks hadn't been _that_ overpriced, the synchronization of the dolphins with their trainer had been amazing, and all together the atmosphere was rather enjoyable. Well, getting splashed by water from the tank repeatedly hadn't been _that_ great, but Alfred's enthusiasm and excitement every time made it a little better. But the one thing that definitely could have been seen as a damper (no pun intended) to their enjoyable day was when the whale show started.

Toris really, really should have known that coming to an animal show with Alfred was a bad idea. Animals were attracted to him, and he to them. Toris should have known that things were going too smoothly.

When the whale show started, Toris didn't notice anything wrong at first. He was cheering along with everyone else when he noticed that his friend was strangely subdued. Worried that he had finally eaten more than his stomach could take, Toris asked Alfred if he was feeling okay. Alfred turned to him slowly, horror shown clearly on his face.

"Toris…" he said, looking back out at the rather oddly shaped and colored whale, "look at what they're _doing_ to him! How…how could they do something like that to such a majestic creature?"

Toris blinked. What? Sometimes he just didn't understand his friend. "Alfred, pay attention to the show, okay?" Alfred frowned, but looked forward once again. Toris hoped, in vain, that Alfred would just forget about whatever was bothering him.

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><p>After the show, when everyone was leaving, Alfred grabbed Toris' hand and pulled him over to the large aquarium tank. Toris protested and asked what was bothering Alfred, when suddenly Alfred let go of his hand and ran over to the tank and hugged it. Toris watched in amazement as Alfred cooed to the tank and the relatively small-ish whale that swam over to meet them. It was the same whale that Alfred had been looking at earlier when the show was on. Toris slowly approached his friend, watching him with some amusement.<p>

"Isn't he glorious?" Alfred shouted at his friend when he noticed him again. Toris winced at the sudden loud noise, as did the whale. Toris finally took a better look at the whale and agreed that it was a rather ice whale. For some reason, to Toris, it looked like the whale was flattered by his words. Alfred beamed at the both of them until his expression just as quickly darkened. Looking back at the whale he muttered "How could they _do_ something like this to him? It's just too cruel." Toris furrowed his eyes.

"Is there something wrong, Alfred?" This was the wrong thing to say, evidently. Alfred spun around to look at Toris, shock written all over his face. His mouth formed a little 'o' with no words coming out for several minutes. Toris shifted uneasily under his gaping at him. What did he do now?

"'Is there something wrong?'" Alfred repeated finally, voice somehow going hoarse. "Can't you _see_ Toris?" Alfred suddenly looked away, glancing all around him as if being watched. Humorously, the whale did the same thing. "No, wait…it's not his fault; he's probably been brainwashed like all the others…" he muttered as he looked around.

_Brainwashed…?_ Toris shook his head. "Alfred, what is this all about?" Alfred looked at him with pity in his eyes.

"The whale, Toris, the whale," he explained, looking back at said whale with tears in his eyes. "He shouldn't be locked up like this, forced to do horrible, mindless tricks for the amusement of others. How is that fair to him? It's inhumane!"

Finally, Toris knew what Alfred was talking about. "I see. What should we do then, Alfred?" If it was Alfred, he would probably march up to the person in charge and complain until either he was blue in the face (which would take a while, considering its Alfred after all) or the manager finally snapped and agreed to set the whale free. Toris wouldn't mind joining him for that; he loved helping to do the right thing.

Alfred beamed at his friend, happy that the Lithuanian teen had finally 'seen the light' or became 'un-brainwashed' or something. "We're going to steal him!"

…wait, what?

"A-Alfred!" Toris squeaked. "You can't be serious!" Oh, wait, yes he _can!_ "That's illegal! We can't do something like that!"

"What _they're_ doing is illegal!" Alfred countered stubbornly. "How is it right to keep a poor whale on display like this?"

Well, Toris had to admit that maybe Alfred had a point there… But still! He wouldn't get involved! "No means no, Alfred," Toris said calmly. He had to be the mature one here and try and make Alfred see reason. There were just so many things wrong with his plan. They would steal it? But, how would they do that? And even if they were somehow able to successfully steal the whale, what would they do with it? Would they—no! No, the problem here wasn't the details of the plan; it was the actual stealing of a whale that was wrong! Toris wouldn't fall for Alfred's way of charming anyone to get what he wants this time!

Toris was shocked, however, when Alfred started tearing up. His bottom lip, stuck out childishly, even started to wobble. No, no, no! This was bad! _Everyone_ fell victim to his puppy-dog pout! He _invented_ it! Hold strong, Toris, hold strong!

"But, but Toris!" Alfred whimpered, looking directly into Toris's eyes. "You have to admit, should a whale really be put in a show that would jut exploit it? It's against Ameriwhale's rights!" Oh great, he named it. But, he had a point… It didn't seem very fair to the whale…

Toris frowned. "Okay Alfred. Say…say I agreed. How would we get Ameriwhale out of here?" Dammit, now he's saying it! The look of shining relief, with a touch of madness coming into Alfred's eyes at his words didn't make Toris feel any better.

"Oh, that's easy!" Alfred exclaimed, hugging Toris tightly. He ignored the Lithuanian boy's protests of 'I didn't say I agreed!' Alfred set him down, looking very excited. "I have an uncle, who's totally a hippie! He'd definitely help us! In fact, I think he'd hit me if I _didn't_ do this!"

"That's all well and good, Alfred," Toris said, resigned to helping out after all. "But what could your uncle do to help us?"

"Well, you see, he has this truck…"

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><p>Toris was speechless. Completely and totally slack-jawed. Before him were a large crane and an equally just as large truck with an extremely large tank filled with water. He watched as Alfred chatted with his uncle and some of his uncle's friends, all with Free The Whales T-shirts as they loaded the whale from the giant aquarium into the giant water tank on the back of the truck. At this point, Toris was just surprised that nobody had come to stop them yet. He had thought that he had heard shouting, followed by a large scream that was quickly silenced earlier, but he was sure that that wasn't because of what he had been thinking of, no. It was probably just a startled employee, who had come across a giant spider and was scared. The fact that the scream was cut off was most likely due to not wanting the spider to know that they were there. The employees were probably just regrouping. Yeah.<p>

…he _really_ hoped that Alfred's uncle and his friends didn't do anything to them.

"Okay Toris, I think we're ready to—dude, are you crying?" Toris, startled, looked over at his confused friend. Toris blinked and raised a trembling hand to his face, where he did indeed find tears.

"Oh, um, i-it's not what it looks like!" Toris hastily explained. Alfred just smiled and threw an arm around his friend's shoulder, heading them over to the truck.

"It's okay, buddy, you don't have to explain. I know exactly what you're talking about." Toris paled slightly. He knew? Before he could say anything, such as explain his thoughts in a way that wouldn't upset his friend or his friend's uncle, Alfred continued. "I'm getting all emotional over us saving Ameriwhale, too. You know Toris, you're good people," Alfred said as they got into the truck, but with hesitations for Toris. "Of course, I already knew that, but there ya go."

"Yeah," Toris said distractedly. He was currently seated in between Alfred and his surprisingly silent uncle. He wasn't too sure he felt safe here; it felt more like a kidnapping than anything else. "Because you're a hero, right?" Toris's eyes widened. Did he just say what he thought he said? And irritated sigh to his left and a sudden look of comprehension from Alfred on his right told him he did. Before Alfred could say anything, Toris quickly asked him where they were going to take the whale after this in the hopes of keeping Alfred off guard. The last thing _anyone_ needed was for Alfred to revert back to saying that _annoying_ thing of his.

Alfred blinked as though dazed and looked at Toris. "What was that?"

"Um, I said that I was wondering where we were going to take the whale now; the ocean, maybe?" Even though it's rather far away…

Alfred laughed. "Don't be ridiculous," he stopped to giggle. On Toris' left, he thought he caught Alfred's uncle smirking. "For one, the ocean's way too far away, dude. Don't you have to be home by like, seven?" Toris nodded hesitantly, not sure where Alfred was going with this. If they weren't going to bring the whale to the ocean, then where else could they take him? "Oh, and another thing; he has a name, it's Ameriwhale! Because he's now a Proud American and also a whale!" Alfred went off into a daze, mumbling to himself 'It's a whale! A whale! A whale!' Toris didn't like where this was going. If Alfred was already _this_ attached to…Ameriwhale…then he wouldn't want to give him up—Alfred's already had somewhat of an obsession with them. He's always wanted a whale, after all…Oh no.

"Alfred…" Toris broached nervously. When he saw that he had brought Alfred back from La-La Land, he continued. "You're not going to…bring Ameriwhale home with you, are you?" He _really_ didn't want to be the one to give him this idea.

"Of course I am!" Alfred cheered, not noticing as Toris sank into depression. "I have a swimming pool in my back yard that's deep enough, and me and Mattie hardly ever use it! It'll be perfect for Ameriwhale; wanna know why?" Alfred asked expectantly. Toris had a bad feeling about this… Alfred took his silence and apprehensive face as a 'yes, Alfred, please tell me so I may learn the awesome secret of your hidden talents!' And how could he say no to that face? "It's 'cause I'm the hero!"

Toris knew it.

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><p>"—and that's what happened," Toris explained awkwardly to Matthew. They were currently watching as Alfred directed his uncle's truck over to the pool as they unloaded his new whale. Matthew had an exasperated look on his face as he watched his brother squeal over his new friend. This was just like last time when Alfred brought home his alien friend! Did his brother have some kind of weird hobby of bringing home strange creatures and befriending them? Matthew sighed and shook his head. At least this time it was someone from this planet.<p>

Toris continued on. "I am so, so sorry about all of this! I tried to stop him, but…"

"He managed to talk his way into it, right?" Matthew guessed.

Toris nodded miserably. "He started crying. And he used his puppy-dog pout." Matthew winced. That was really, really low, Alfred.

"Well, it's no one's fault; when Alfred wants something, he usually gets it."

"'Cause I'm the hero!" Alfred randomly shouted, almost as though he knew what the other two were talking about. Matthew's eyes widened. Turning quickly, he looked over at his brother who was currently saying goodbye to their uncle (who had forgotten about Matthew again, damn it!). Did he just…

Toris winced. He could _**feel**_ the neighborhood looking at him accusingly right now. "Um. That…also kind of happened. I am so, so sorry…again," he said miserably. "It just kind of…slipped out. It was during one of his many boasts, and I was just so used to it from before, and-! Well, I don't really have an excuse," Toris lowered his head. "Just that I tried to distract him, but it didn't work."

"Did you try to distract him with a whale?" Matthew asked with a twist of his lips, slightly humored. He could probably understand if that was what Toris had tried to do; honestly, what would have surprised Matthew the most was that it didn't work. Alfred had always loved whales.

Toris shook his head quickly, reflex telling him that he was walking on thin ice right now. "No, the thing with the whale-" Alfred looked over sharply and glared. "-sorry, Ameriwhale," Alfred nodded curtly and went back to cooing over 'Ameriwhale' "happened first. He was trying to tell me on the way back why he knew that I was 'good people' or something for 'agreeing' with him about Ameriwhale, when…"

Matthew nodded tiredly. He wondered how his parents would take to finding out that their youngest son was keeping a whale in the backyard pool. They probably wouldn't care; on the contrary, they'd probably be delighted. There mom is a marine biologist; this would be like taking your work home with you. Then again, they might be around more often now…

"Don't worry about it," Matthew finally said to Toris, who was still fidgeting. "I'll explain things to Arthur and Francis, and they'll help me explain things to everyone else. We'll even keep your name out if you want."

Toris thanked him gratefully and profusely. He then said a quick goodbye to Alfred and left as fast as he could without being rude. Matthew couldn't blame him.

It had taken so long to trick Alfred into stopping saying that he was a hero; even the teachers and other adults found ways around mentioning it. Matthew cringed as he thought about everyone's reactions for when he told them that there was no way his twin was going to stop now.

"_Who the bloody hell mentioned the word 'hero' around him?"_


End file.
